Lidl has opened a new 500 square metre ‘mini’ supermarket format in Munich city centre, approximately half the size of a typical Lidl outlet.
The store, which occupies the former site of a McDonald’s restaurant on Zweibrückenstraße in downtown Munich, boasts around 80% of the assortment of a typical Lidl outlet.
Store aisles are higher, and there are less facings per SKU, in order to maintain a wide selection for shoppers, including fresh and frozen items, a fruit and vegetable selection, and even an organic shelf.
In addition, there are no shopping trolleys available at the store, only baskets, while no car parking is available.
While the move is a first for Lidl, its rivals, such as Edeka and Rewe have been running city centre outlets for some time.
Lidl supported the opening with a series of eye-catching advertisements in the nearby S-Bahn station.
The discounter appears to be backing the smaller, urban format, as it has announced plans to open a second such outlet on Munich’s Leopoldstraße on April 11.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
